Flames of the Damned
by VivetteLeMorte
Summary: Portgas D. Ace is not quite as dead as everyone feared. But is this new life a blessing, or a curse? Eventual Ace/OC romance.
1. Chapter 1

**OP Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own my OCs.**

He was dying.

Really, honestly dying. It was an inescapable fact. He'd just had a hole punched through his chest. There would be no more sailing the seas, no more skirmishes, no more… Anything.

And damn it if he didn't still feel like he was being watched. He never had found out why that was.

He leaned into Luffy, blackness slowly clouding his eyes. He breathed his last.

Something was shining into his closed lids. He coughed.

He was lying down in something… A coffin? What? Oh, that's right, he died… Wait, so why was he awake?

He looked down. There was no trace of the wound that had killed him, except skin that seemed a bit shinier than it should have been.

'What the hell…' He muttered to himself. There was dirt piled around the coffin. So he'd been… Dug up? And there was…

'Oh crap.' A girl next to the coffin. Dead, by the looks of it, sporting the same wound that had killed him. Did that mean Admiral Akainu was here?

He stepped out of the coffin, carefully avoiding the body sprawled beside it, and saw the grave to his left.

'Whitebeard…' His captain. His father figure. Gone. What would become of the Whitebeard pirates without their captain? They'd probably put Marco in charge. Well, if they'd managed to escape the marines.

He heard something shift beside him and whirled, searching for a foe.

'Ow…' The girl he had thought was dead growled. She looked down at the hole in her chest. It was healing.

Ace turned white. She should be dead. How was she healing? What was going on here?

She looked at him with piercing emerald eyes, and shrugged a lock of violet hair over her shoulder. 'I imagine you have a great many questions.' She sat up with a grimace. 'Ask away.'

Ace opened his mouth, closed it, thought for a moment, then opened it again. 'How am I alive?'

The girl stood up. 'You are alive because I brought you back from the dead. I ate a Devil Fruit, the Life Life fruit. It allows me to give life to those who have died recently by transferring whatever it was that killed them to my own body. It cannot kill me, of course. My Devil Fruit prevents such an eventuality.' She examined the wound on her chest that was now almost completely healed. 'You certainly took a beating, Portgas D. Ace. That is the most painful wound I've suffered through to bring someone back so far. Congratulations… I think.'

Ace leaned against his coffin, folding his arms. She didn't seem to be a threat, but she was certainly odd. 'Why me?'

Again she fixed him with that piercing stare. 'You did not deserve to die, nor did you want to. You are one of the rare people that deserve a second chance at life, rather than deserving to have been given no chance at all. You now have that chance.'

She motioned for him to move away from his coffin, and pushed it back into the grave, filling it over once more. 'Cannot afford to let the whole world know you're alive, now can we?'

Ace reached for his knife and hat, but she stopped him. 'Leave those ones. While I understand the sentimental value they hold for you, they must remain here as testament to your death. I will find you some that are as identical as possible.'

'But…' He protested, but she silenced him with a glare. Clearly she disliked her advice being ignored.

'Fine.' He sighed. 'Also, I don't think we've been formally introduced.' He held out his hand. 'Ace, as you know.'

She held out her own hand. 'Seraph D. Demeter. Pleasure to finally meet you.'

Ace quirked an eyebrow. 'Finally?'

'I've been watching you for some time.'

That would explain that feeling, of always being watched. 'So that was you! Why? Little creepy, don't you think?'

Demeter began to walk away, beckoning for him to follow. Which he did, though he had no idea why he was being so compliant with someone he'd just met.

'Creepy? I can see how it could be perceived that way. Why? Because I knew your time would end prematurely. I can see the threads of life and death, and I can follow them all. I can see when they should end, and when they will end. Sometimes it is later than they should, sometimes earlier. I was interested to see whether your thread deserved to be cut short, so I watched your progress, and determined that you deserved a longer life.'

There was silence for a few minutes, until they reached the shoreline. Anchored not far off was a ship. It looked abandoned, derelict.

'I should warn you, Portgas D. Ace, that your Devil Fruit power will have changed. You died, so it left you and entered another fruit. I brought you back in the state that you were upon death, so you retain the power, but it will feel different and will act differently. The power will be confused, and you must learn to control it once more.' She walked towards a small rowing boat that was pointed towards the abandoned ship.

'Does that mean someone else may have it by now?' Ace asked with trepidation.

'They do not. Not yet. But it will likely be eaten by someone in the near future. I am unsure what effect that will have upon you, whether you will lose your power completely, or whether it will do nothing.' Demeter hopped delicately into the rowing boat, Ace following suit, and she moved to take the oars, but he wouldn't let her.

'Gentlemanly of you.' She commented drily.

'I wasn't raised to be rude.' He replied.

She merely raised an eyebrow at him. 'Yet you became a pirate.'

Ace laughed. 'That I did. I don't remember seeing a rule about pirates having to be rude.'

Demeter smiled slightly. 'That is true. I suppose there are well-mannered pirates out there. Red-Haired Shanks comes to mind.'

'You know Shanks?' Ace was surprised, but Demeter shook her head.

'Not personally. I know of him. He is another I have observed.'

They were silent as Ace continued to row towards the ship. Demeter looked out to sea, eyes occasionally flicking backwards to the Fire Fist, as if she had to remind herself what he looked like. Or perhaps it was more basic than that. He wasn't wearing a shirt, after all. When viewed in that light, her restraint was rather admirable. A large proportion of people who encountered him were unable to tear their eyes away at all.

Ace followed her gaze uncertainly. He noticed every time her eyes flicked back, but chose not to say anything.

Soon they reached the ship. Demeter whistled the beginning of a tune that seemed vaguely familiar, and a rope ladder was dropped over the side of the hull. They climbed up, and upon reaching the top, one of the crew on the ship scurried down the ladder to bring up the rowboat.

'Welcome, Portgas D. Ace, to the ship of the damned.' Demeter's voice was almost sad.

Ace looked around him. A thin layer of fog drifted across the deck, though the day was clear. It was colder than it should have been.

'What do you mean, ship of the damned?' He asked Demeter as she walked towards the helm, crewmates nodding to her as she passed.

'Well, her real name is Styx. This is the ship of the people I have brought back from the dead. They're my crew now. I'm afraid that, while I give them the choice, often reintegrating into the life they once had is nearly impossible. You and I have much to discuss, and you're not going to like most of what it is I have to say.' She took the wheel, ordered the anchor to be pulled up, and began to steer away from the island.

'Wait, you're the captain here?' Ace looked surprised. She merely raised an eyebrow at him and turned back to sailing the ship.

'How are you feeling?' She asked him suddenly.

He looked at her with a questioning look. 'What do you mean?'

'Your captain, Whitebeard, is dead. You just came back from the dead yourself. You are now on a ship full of people in the same situation. I imagine it is difficult for you. How are you feeling?'

Well, now that she mentioned it… 'I feel starving. Do you have any food?'

That elicited a laugh from Demeter, something that caused the whole crew to look at her. Clearly she didn't laugh often.

'Yes, we do have food. I shall take you to the kitchen. Rhior, take over, will you?'

A tall man with a mess of dark blue hair and a tattoo of what looked like an avenging angel on his shoulder nodded and took the wheel.

Demeter led Ace down into the depths of the ship. They passed a few crew members here, and Ace noticed they all had that same tattoo. It must have been their symbol. Some waved or nodded to him, seeming to be quite the polite bunch. Others ignored him. To them he was probably just another of the corpses their captain chose to bring back.

'That man you asked to take over the wheel for you, is he your first mate?' Ace asked, not liking the silence.

'Rhior? Yes, he is. He was one of the first people I brought back after eating the Devil Fruit.' She led him through the first two decks of the ship, eventually arriving at the galley, free of crewmen but filled with tables and chairs.

'How many people have you brought back?' He asked as he grabbed a basket of fruit that was sitting on one of the tables.

'One hundred and four, including you.' She asked, stealing one of the fruits from the basket and biting into it.

His eyes boggled. That was a lot of people to be brought back from the dead. 'Are you sure that's wise?'

She held his gaze, eyebrows raised. 'I am fully aware of the possible repercussions of my actions, Portgas D. Ace. I have the power to give life, and also to take it away. I have exercised both powers equally.'

His heart sank slightly. She was a killer. 'Why would you do such a thing? And please, just call me Ace.'

She sat, eyes clouding over. 'Because some people are not people at all, but are monsters in disguise.'

Ace sat down too. 'Every person you've killed has absolutely deserved to die?'

She turned her eyes to him again. 'Every person I killed had lived long past their allotted time, and never deserved to live at all. Life is a gift that they abused horrendously. Determining who lives and who dies is my burden.'

Clearly the Life Life fruit wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

'Have you ever lost anyone?' She asked him suddenly.

'Yes, a long time ago. A childhood friend. His name was Sabo.' His tone saddened.

'Was there anything you could have done to save him?'

What an odd question. 'No, there wasn't. His ship was destroyed, I wasn't on it.'

'Hmm.' She seemed thoughtful. 'I see. So true despair is not something you have experienced before?'

He shook his head. 'I guess not, though I don't know where this line of questioning is leading.'

She disposed of the core of the fruit she had been eating, and stood up. 'There are many people on this ship who lost people close to them, and there was nothing they could do. There are an equal number who could have done something, but didn't. You have seen some of those in the latter category. They did not acknowledge you when you passed them earlier, and neither did they acknowledge me.'

He had no idea what she was talking about. He wasn't even sure she was completely sane.

'There is a point to this, Ace. Those who ignore you are trapped in the grips of their despair. I am on a quest to find a way to alleviate their suffering. It pains me greatly to see my crew like this, and I have never been able to find a cure. I am now going to offer you a choice. The offer will always be open. You may leave this ship to find your loved ones, or you can stay here as a member of the crew. As a crewmate, your true loyalty would need to lie with me, and me alone. Do you understand what that means?'

He nodded. 'I do.'

'If you choose to remain with the ship, perhaps one day I will believe that you are loyal. However, there are precious few in this crew who are. The one I trust the most is Rhior. Do you know why that is?'

Ace furrowed his brows as the tone of her voice. 'No. Why?'

'Because he has no loved ones to return to. His family has been dead for years. I could not bring them back for him.'

'What do you mean? Why couldn't you bring them back?' Ace looked at her, a piece of fruit halfway to his mouth.

'They had been killed years earlier, in a raid by the marines. I can only bring back those who have been dead less than twelve hours. Any longer than that and the brain has begun to decay. It does not respond to my power.' She put a hand on his shoulder. 'I can see that you were hoping I could bring your friend back for you. But I fear it is too late. It has been years since you lost him, and there is nothing I can do.'

Ace looked away from her. He had indeed been hoping that she could bring Sabo back. But then, he didn't know where Sabo's grave was, or how to find it.

Demeter looked at him, and the pain on his face seemed to hurt her. She took his hand. 'Come with me. I may not be able to bring him back, but at least I will be able to see the thread of his life, and the kind of person that he was.'

She led him down into the depths of the ship, which was much larger than he had originally realised. Eventually she pulled him into a room with curved walls.

'This room amplifies my power. It shouldn't take too long.' She had asked him to describe Sabo to her on the way to the room, so that she knew what to look for. There were certain characteristics that were unique to each person, and that was how she managed to find their life thread. It had taken years of practice.

Ten minutes later, her brow was deeply furrowed, and she had still not found the thread. She opened her eyes. 'Are you absolutely certain that he is dead? Did you see the body?'

Ace frowned. 'Well, no.'

'Alright. Let me try something.' Rather than sifting through the threads of the dead, she began to sort through those of the living in her mind.

'Yellow hair, dresses like an aristocrat, blue coat? Sound familiar?' She said with a slight smile on her face.

'Yeah, that's him! That's Sabo! So you can see the kind of person he was…' His excitement turned to sorrow.

'Was? No. Ace, Sabo is alive.'

A look of shock stole over Ace's face. Sabo was alive? Truly alive?

He grabbed the front of Demeter's coat. 'Are you sure?'

She gave him a look of disdain. 'Of course I'm sure. I would not have said anything if I wasn't.'

'Can we find him?'

She smiled. 'We can try.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own my OCs.**

A brutal storm had come upon them quite suddenly while they were sailing to find information about Sabo. The Styx was a strong ship, but this maelstrom was proving to be difficult to manoeuvre through.

'WAVE COMING ASTERN! BRACE YOURSELVES!' Demeter shouted at her crew as she held tightly to the wheel. The crew did all they could to remain standing as the wave pounded the ship. Luckily nobody went overboard.

'Bear away to the west! That's our only chance of outrunning the storm!'

The crew complied. Despite the fact that the sails had been hoisted to half-mast to prevent too much damage while retaining an element of speed, they still didn't seem to be getting out of the storm.

Ace was below decks. Demeter had been unwilling to allow him on deck during such a heavy storm, for fear that he would be thrown off the side. It was just as well, he had suffered three bouts of narcolepsy in the last hour alone.

The ship was still being buffeted. 'Damn it, Demeter, what are you doing up there?' Ace growled.

What Demeter was doing exactly was arguing with the storm while pulling her ship out of it. She'd finally seen a way out, and they were heading towards it with all speed, damage to the sails be damned.

'What did Styx ever do to you?' Demeter growled as the storm rumbled overhead.

Fifteen minutes later, they were out. Battered, broken, and tired beyond belief, but out. Demeter went around and congratulated every member of her crew, and checked that they were alright, before she went down to check on Ace.

'I hope you are not too bruised from that particular event, Ace?' She asked as she walked into her cabin, where he was waiting.

He shook his head. 'I'm fine though I have no idea what you were doing.'

Demeter raised an eyebrow. 'I beg your pardon?'

'You endangered the ship by going into that storm, and then you nearly couldn't get out. What sort of a captain does something like that?'

In an instant Ace was slammed against the wall, and Demeter's hand was around his throat. 'You cannot even begin to judge my actions. That was no ordinary storm. It could not be avoided. If it could have been, I would have. I would like to see you do a better job of navigating that which you do not understand.' She released him.

His airways burned, but he refused to show her any form of weakness, so merely glared defiantly at her.

'Do not question my judgement again, Portgas D. Ace.' She said coldly, before storming out of the room.

Ace snorted, and left the room himself, but was stopped at the door by Rhior, who had apparently been waiting outside.

'You here to get angry at me too?' Ace asked sullenly.

Rhior folded his arms. 'No.'

'Care to elaborate at all?' Ace leaned against the door frame.

'Sure. I don't like you.' Rhior's eyes narrowed as he said it, glaring at Ace.

Ace rolled his eyes. 'Thanks, but I don't really care. I'm not planning on staying on this ship any longer than I have to. I've got people to find.'

Rhior smirked. 'We'll be glad to get rid of you. Generally when people are brought back from the dead, they're a little more grateful, and a little less judgemental.'

Ace pushed past Rhior, saying nothing. He wasn't ungrateful for this second chance at life, he just hadn't come to terms with what it meant yet. He stormed through the ship, feeling that he needed solitude, but unable to find anywhere that felt acceptable. Eventually he wound up in the crow's nest, which was thankfully vacant. He sat there, staring at the sky.

'Luffy… I hope you made it out okay…' He said quietly to himself.

After about half an hour of sitting up there, contemplating his situation, he was joined by a member of the crew he hadn't yet met.

'You're the new guy, eh?' The crewman said with an accent Ace couldn't quite place.

'Yeah, I guess I am.' He said, without enthusiasm.

'Got you down that much, has it? Being back from the dead?' The man smiled wryly. 'I was like you once. I thought that it would have been better to be dead, really. Then my job was over. I had nothing left to do. But Captain Demeter has a way of making you feel differently.'

Ace grimaced. 'Don't talk to me about her.'

The crewman laughed. 'I didn't like her at first either. But she grows on you. Just you wait until you see her in action, then you'll understand why the crew follows her. I'm Blackjack, by the way. O'Shea Blackjack.' He held out his hand.

Ace shook it. 'Portgas D. Ace.'

'Pleasure to meet you, Portgas D. Ace. Now perk up a bit, it's not so bad. You've haven't been here long.' Blackjack gave him a smile, which Ace returned, before heading back down, entering the bowels of the ship.

He wandered through the corridors, searching for Demeter. He owed her an apology.

He found her in her cabin, sewing of all things.

'What are you doing?' He asked as she called for him to enter after he knocked on the door.

'Sewing. Obviously.' She cocked one eyebrow at him.

He laughed. 'I didn't take you for the sewing type.'

She snorted in response. 'I am a woman of many talents. I've nearly completed this, at any rate.' It was some sort of large item made of different fabrics and skins.

'Uh… What is it?' Ace asked apprehensively.

She fixed him with a wicked grin. 'Why, it's for you, of course. Cannot have you sleeping without something to keep you warm. It's the closest thing to a blanket you will receive on this ship, so hold out on the complaints unless you would rather be cold.'

A blanket? It didn't look much like a blanket… 'Are you sure that's what it is?'

'Quite sure.' She knotted off the last stitches, cut the thread, and handed it to him. 'Your cabin has been prepared. It is a deck below this one, with the other crew members. It is small, but it is yours. Nobody need share their cabin on this ship, unless they wish to.'

'Huh… Thank you.' He said uncertainly, before leaving her room to find his own. All the doors on the deck below had names on them. Some had even been personalised. His had clearly only just been painted, with 'Portgas D. Ace' in large black letters. He pushed the door open to reveal the room within.

It was indeed rather small, though in comparison with the cabins on other ships, it would have been of average size. There was a single bed against one wall, with a small table and chair in the corner, and a dresser with three drawers and a mirror. Ace threw the blanked onto the bed. It fit well. He suddenly realised that he was incredibly tired, and before he could even slip under the covers, was asleep.

He dreamed of Luffy, and the Straw Hat Pirates. In his dream, he was sailing with them on their quest, laughing with the crew, being a part of their family. But the dream became a nightmare, and the Straw Hat Pirates were swallowed up by the sea, sucked down into a whirlpool so vast that it seemed to stretch around the whole horizon. He was left floating atop the waves, unable to be pulled into the monstrous force of nature that had drowned his brother.

He woke up suddenly in a sweat, breathing heavily. What a horrible nightmare that had been.

'Ace? Are you quite alright?' He could hear Demeter on the other side of the door.

'Uh, yeah, I'm fine.' He answered quickly.

'I've been calling for five minutes. I was about to break the door down. Hurry up and get on deck, there is something I would like you to see.'

When he finally arrived on deck it was very dark. He must have been asleep for hours.

'What do you make of this, Ace?' Demeter pointed to a particular part of the sea. It was filled with completely destroyed ships, and a swathe had been cut through the middle where their attacker must have gone. 'Have you seen anything like this before?'

Ace shook his head. The level of destruction was immense. 'The only thing that I can think of is that two rival pirate factions had a battle here, and one beat the other decisively.'

Demeter leaned on the wooden railing, lost in thought. She said nothing for five minutes.

'Uh… Do you still need me for something?' Ace asked awkwardly.

'Hmm? Oh, no, you may go. I merely wanted to know if you had encountered this before. That is all.'

She started humming as he walked away. He shook his head and went back to his room, thinking about all those broken ships. It had been a slaughter, whatever it was. Nobody could have survived that level of devastation.

There was a knock on Ace's door.

'Come in.' Ace called.

An older woman with spiky grey hair entered. 'So you're the new corpse, huh? Get up, I need to check you over.'

Ace stood warily. 'I'm sorry, you need to what?'

The woman folded her arms. 'Check you over. I'm the ship's doctor, Ryger Mae. Have to make sure you're not about to die a second time.'

Her bedside manner left a lot to be desired. 'I'm pretty sure I'm fine. Thanks anyway.' He sat back down on the bed, only to have her haul him up again and begin examining him before he could protest further.

'The wound that killed you was on your chest, yes? Went all the way through?' She studied him.

'Yeah, it did.' He responded grimly.

'Well, you'll be glad to know it's healing nicely. It will scar, of course, but that's better than being dead. Otherwise you seem healthy.' She packed up the instruments she had been using.

'How did you get on board this ship?' Ace asked suddenly.

Mae raised an eyebrow. 'Same was as everybody else. Captain brought me back.'

'But… Well…' He was at a loss to say what he was thinking.

She cackled. 'I'm old, I know. Seems to make little sense that I would be brought back. Something you should know, though. Once she brings you back, you can't die of old age. In a manner of speaking, we're all immortal. We're just not invulnerable. So I've got a while yet.' She giggled evilly.

He couldn't see why Demeter would have brought such an unpleasant person back, but chose not to pursue the subject, allowing Mae to leave. He decided that he would go to the galley. He was starving.

Several crew members were in the galley, singing shanties while they feasted on whatever the chef had cooked for them, washing it down with ale. They were a completely mismatched crew, filled with people that under normal circumstances would never have even spoken to each other. But they seemed to be able to tolerate each other well enough. Ace shook his head. So strange.

'New guy!' Someone called out from his left. Ace turned, searching the sea of faces, and saw one table of crewmembers waving their hands at him. He walked over cautiously.

'You looked a little lonely standing up there all by yourself.' The person who had called out smiled. He was tall and lean, young, with bright white hair. 'Come join the newbie table.'

There were three others at this table. Two women, and another man. They all smiled at him. The one with the white hair began to introduce them all.

'I'm Tyro. This is Melric,' he pointed to the other man, 'Anara,' he indicated the woman on the left, 'and Evene.' The other woman waved. 'We're the most recent corpses to come back. Well, apart from you.'

'Sometimes it helps to stick together with people as new to this as you are.' Anara said quietly. 'It takes some getting used to.'

Ace sat down, partaking of some of the food they had assembled at the table. Instead of people grabbing their own plates, large platters of food sat on each table for groups to pick at as they pleased. He listened to the others as they told him their stories, and he told them his. It was nice to be able to talk about it to people who had experienced the same thing.

He smiled to himself. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own my OCs.**

Styx would soon be anchoring at an exotic port. Demeter had announced it to the whole crew over breakfast. Afterwards, she had asked Ace to come and see her. He had done so, and she had revealed to him that she had news regarding Sabo. There was someone on this island who had seen him recently.

'If you wish to find him and leave the crew, I will not stop you.' She had looked at him seriously. 'However, you must tell no one what you have witnessed on board the Styx. This is a ghost ship. I do not wish for it to become the talk of the town.'

He had agreed, and planned to keep his word. He would also look for some replacement clothes here. This was the first time they had made port since he had been aboard the ship, and he was looking forward to being able to stretch his legs.

Some of the other crewmembers that he had met over the past couple of weeks waved to him as he came up onto the deck. The port was in sight, and Demeter was expertly steering the ship into the harbour.

'Where are we?' Ace asked Blackjack, who had come to stand next to him.

'This is the quaint little port of Tharia. Nice and small, separated from the rest of the world and its endless problems.' Blackjack gave him a smile. 'Excellent women here, too.' He cackled.

Ace rolled his eyes. Some people were just hopeless.

Demeter called for the ship to be anchored, and the crew began to disembark. Ace watched as Demeter waited for the rest of the crew to leave first. Rhior remained behind. There was no need for him to leave the ship, he didn't want anything. As Ace jumped down from the ship, Demeter followed.

'I know a place here that may be able to supply you with a new hat.' She steered him to a street on the left. It was filled with small shops.

One shop specifically sold hats. It took about half an hour to go through them all, but eventually he found one that was as close to his old hat as he was as likely to get. Demeter paid for it, as Ace had no funds at all. He would have to rectify that situation soon, as it was likely to cause problems in the future.

He and Demeter spent the entire day together. He told her about his past life, though she knew a lot of it from her observation of him. She told him about what her life had been like before eating her Devil Fruit, and what it had been like afterwards. She had an interesting life, it seemed. Very different to what he had expected. Filled with both hard battles and periods of peace and happiness.

'I was not always as serious as I am now, but controlling life tends to sober up your view of the world and of what is important.' She ended softly.

Ace felt that he had gotten to know her a bit better today, and therefore understood what motivated her a little better than he had previously. They returned to the ship, greeting Rhior as they came aboard. They were the last to arrive, and they soon prepared to depart. However, Blackjack swung down from the crow's nest, a fearful look on his face.

'Captain! We need to get away from here as quickly as possible. East, rather than northwest.'

Demeter turned, concern in her eyes. 'What have you seen, Blackjack?'

Blackjack shuddered. 'It's him, Captain. It's Dark Fury.'

The colour drained from Demeter's face. 'Turn us around!' She shouted. 'We need to get out of here, now!'

There was fear on the face of every crewmember, as they worked faster than ever to escape this mysterious Dark Fury. Ace turned to Blackjack while setting the sail. 'Who is Dark Fury?'

Blackjack gave him a meaningful look. 'He's the sworn enemy of our captain, and he's a monster. Many of the people she has brought back are those he has killed. He hunts her constantly.'

'Why?' Ace was curious.

Blackjack grimaced. 'Because he is her brother.'

Ace's eyes widened. 'Her brother is her enemy? How?'

Blackjack quickly explained how Dark Fury had become Demeter's enemy. He had joined an evil cult that worshipped Devil Fruits as demonic gods. Once his name had been Iapetus, but he had cast it aside in favour of the name the cult bestowed upon him, and from that moment he only answered to Dark Fury. His relationship with his family deteriorated as his loyalty to the cult grew, and eventually he murdered his parents as a sacrifice to the gods he loved so much. He was going to kill Demeter as well, but a stranger jumped in to protect her. She had never found out who it was, but they had immediately gone after her brother, so must have been hunting the cult. Ever since that day, Dark Fury and Demeter had been mortal enemies; Demeter spent much of her time trying to undo the damage her brother caused, and sought to end his reign of terror.

As Blackjack finished regaling Ace, the ship of the feared Dark Fury came into view from around the harbour. It was an enormous vessel, and was completely black, with its cannons aimed directly at the Styx.

'Brace yourselves!' Demeter shouted as she turned the ship. The sails were catching the full force of the wind now, and they were gathering speed, drawing away from the ship behind them.

'Shouldn't we stay and fight?' Ace asked Blackjack, who merely looked at him as if he were stupid.

'That ship has at least three times as much firepower as we do, as well as a bloodthirsty crew and a nutcase captain with a grudge and a long memory. If we fight them, we go straight to the bottom of the ocean. The best we can hope to do is lead them away from the island to protect its inhabitants, and then escape them on the open ocean.' Blackjack responded.

That was Demeter's plan exactly. This was not their first encounter by a long shot. Once the island was out of sight, and her brother's ship was showing no signs of returning to it, Demeter put her plan into full force, firing off warning rounds and implementing evasive manoeuvres that would prevent them from getting harmed but would also allow them to gain enough speed to escape.

It took about another half an hour, but eventually they were free. Demeter headed below decks, giving Rhior the wheel. She was exhausted. Ace followed her. He had some questions.

He knocked on the door to her cabin, and she called for him to enter.

'Ace. What can I do for you?' She asked in a resigned voice.

'You can tell me why we didn't fight him.' He leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms.

Demeter sighed and rubbed her temples. 'Because we are not yet strong enough.'

Ace's ears pricked up. 'Not yet? So you do plan to take him on at some point?'

She glared. 'Well of course I do. I can hardly allow my own blood to remain free, massacring as he pleases. He must be stopped, but there is no point attempting to do so before we are strong enough, for we will only get one chance. That is part of the reason I brought you back, Ace. I need your strength.'

She looked so tired, and so very sad. He went over to her and patted her shoulder. 'You have it. And if you need more strength, perhaps we could find the Straw Hat Pirates. I'm sure they'd be willing to give us a hand.'

He received a grateful smile. 'Perhaps we could. We shall see. Thank you, Ace. I must rest.' She pushed her violet locks out of her eyes, allowing him to see their piercing emerald colour fully. 'Good night, Ace. I will see you tomorrow.'

He knew he was dismissed, so he left for his own cabin, mulling over the events of the day. He took off his hat, which he really rather liked, even though it wasn't his old one, and lay down on his bed. He fell asleep instantly.

Upon waking the next day, he could hear that the ship was a hive of activity. People were running back and forth like headless chickens.

'What's going on?' He asked one of the crewmembers who ran past.

The crewmember looked at him with fearful eyes. 'It's physical day. Run for your life!'

'Physical day? What?' Ace said to himself in confusion as the terrified crewmember ran off again. But it soon hit him when he saw Doctor Ryger Mae with a clipboard in one hand, a scalpel in the other, and the smile of a psychopath lighting her features.

'Oh no… Physical examinations!' He ran as quickly as he could to the ladder that led to the deck as he heard Mae cackling from below.

'It's a small ship, boys, you won't get very far, and I'll find you all eventually!' She giggled with glee.

As Ace pushed his way onto the deck, running to the railing behind the wheel, he caught Demeter's eye. Her eyebrow was raised, and there was an amused smirk on her face.

'The good doctor doesn't scare you, does she Ace?' Demeter asked wickedly.

'She terrifies me.' He answered grimly, to which she laughed.

'I'm afraid she terrifies everyone. I suppose she has to entertain herself somehow.' She seemed completely at ease with the situation.

'If she terrifies everyone, why do you look completely calm?' Ace accused.

'Hmm?' She spun the wheel slightly as there was a school of whales ahead that she didn't want to disturb. 'Oh. Well, perhaps I should rephrase. She terrifies all the men. The female members of the crew have no issue at all, she presents no problem with us. But she can be rather… Inappropriate at times, and not at all gentle with the men. I suggest you guard your loins. At least you can set her on fire if she grabs anything she isn't supposed to.' She gave him a meaningful wink.

'You should not be okay with this.' He grumbled back, making her laugh again.

'My dear Ace, at least my ship has a doctor. It's only one day each year, would you not rather be uncomfortable for that one day and have access to medical facilities than miss out on the discomfort but be unable to seek medical aid if you need it?'

He sighed. 'You do make a good point, but I still think you should talk to her about it, you can't let the crew continue to be uncomfortable. It's bad for your reputation as captain.'

Demeter's brow furrowed. 'You also make a good point. I shall speak to her in the evening. Trying to talk to her now would be about as effective as speaking to a brick wall.'

Resigned to his fate, Ace walked back down below decks, right into the path of Mae.

'You're next, newbie.' A wicked gleam lit her eyes.

'You do anything I'm not comfortable with and I'll set your hair on fire.' He clicked his fingers and a flame sprung to their tips.

Mae smiled. 'I like a man with a bit of attitude.'

The physical was less daunting than he had expected. Aside from a multitude of inappropriate comments, the actual examination itself was very professional. It did hurt a little, though. Poking and prodding, testing blood. Not pleasant.

Rhior entered the examination room as Ace was preparing to leave. 'Mae, the captain wants to see you when all of the examinations are complete.'

'Oh really?' Mae's eyes flashed. 'Then I guess you'd better have your examination, Rhior, or I'll never get to her.'

Rhior looked decidedly pale, Ace noticed with amusement. He patted the first mate on the arm, mouthing 'Good luck' at him. Rhior just gulped.

Ace returned to the deck. Demeter was still at the wheel. 'It wasn't as bad as I expected. When are you having your examination?'

'I had mine this morning, the moment I woke up. I went straight to her. When she chases you, she gets a little carried away with her scalpel…' Demeter shivered very slightly. 'As a result, I choose to get it over and done with immediately rather than wait for her to find me.'

Ace smirked slightly. 'I thought you said that it wasn't a problem for the women.'

She glanced at him. 'In terms of the inappropriate manner she has a habit of displaying, no. But it's still a painful procedure.'

That was fair enough, he supposed. 'Where are we headed to today?'

'I would like to make a stop at an archipelago that is not too far from here, commonly known as the Archipelago of Lost Light. It will take us two days to get there, but they grow some of the most delicious fruits imaginable on those islands.' Her mouth was watering just at the thought of them.

'Alright… But does that help us with our quest at all?' Ace seemed frustrated.

'As a matter of fact, it does. There is a man there I need to speak with. He is known only as Morde. He will be able to train the crew, and to help us prepare for an attack on Dark Fury, whenever that may be.'

'Hmph.' Ace didn't see why he couldn't just train them. He knew plenty about fighting.

'You will understand when you see him, Ace.' It seemed she had read his mind. 'You may even learn something.'

He shook his head. 'I doubt it. Two days? What do you want us to do for two days?' He barely managed to finish the sentence before he crashed onto the deck, fast asleep.

'It seems you hardly need me to answer that question.' Demeter muttered, smiling, as she steered the ship towards the Archipelago of Lost Light.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own my OCs.**

**Thank you to XD9lizzy and mittensx7768 for their reviews of chapter 3, and to AikaWusHereRawr for the review of chapter 2. I am very glad that you are enjoying the story.**

Upon their arrival at the Archipelago of Lost Light, the entire crew eagerly jumped overboard and swam to the island to begin gathering fruit. Demeter had remained in her room, recovering from an unfortunate incident that had happened the previous day when she had been examining the threads of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Ace had given her descriptions of each, and she had not encountered any difficulty with a majority of the crew, but had not been able to find the thread of Brook's life, which really wasn't surprising. He seemed to be in a sort of limbo. However, a serious problem had arisen upon attempting to check up on Franky. Ace had been with her at the time, so had been able to get her to the doctor immediately. When trying to find Franky's thread, the strain of it had caused her to convulse. Her nose exploded with blood, and she fell unconscious. It had taken Ryger Mae an hour to wake her. She had been none too gentle with her reprimand.

'What the hell did you think you were doing?' Mae had shouted at Demeter, who looked up from the bed wearily.

'I was searching life threads.' She muttered in response.

'Well you must have done something wrong, because you damn near killed yourself! You have a responsibility to this crew, and don't you forget it, young lady!' Mae stormed out of her surgery, muttering to herself.

Demeter shook her head and gingerly got up. Ace was there beside her. 'Are you sure you're alright?' He seemed very concerned.

'Yes, I'm fine, though I would like to find out what happened.' She let Ace help her back to her room. 'Franky is different from the others. He is some sort of strange amalgamation of flesh and metal that makes his life thread incredibly painful to read. I have never encountered such a thing.'

Ace leaned against the door frame. 'Luffy's crew is full of strange people, I'm not surprised that there's a member there different from anything you've seen before.' He smiled slightly. 'I'm glad they're all okay.'

Demeter raised an eyebrow. 'Indeed. From what I could tell, they are all training. They're not together as a crew, none of them are even anywhere near each other, which I find to be rather odd. Can you explain it?'

Ace shrugged. 'All I can think of is that after my death, Luffy told them all to spend time training in order to prepare himself for the trials ahead of him. He's always spoiling for a fight, and training is important to him.'

Cricking her neck, Demeter rifled through some papers on her desk. 'I'd like to record their locations, and keep an eye on them, in case there is ever an emergency of some sort in the future. That Straw Hat captain… His life force pulses with energy like nobody else. He's one of a kind.' She eventually exclaimed with delight as she pulled out a diary containing several maps and prolific notes on what appeared to be a number of notable individuals. Ace shook his head and left the room. She was an odd one.

Heading to the deck, he realised that he and Demeter were the only ones still aboard the ship, other than Rhior, who appeared to barely ever leave it. Ace climbed down the ladder as they were now safely docked, and let his toes curl in the white sand of the beach that stood before him. It appeared that the Archipelago of Lost Light was not a very well-known destination, as Demeter's ship was the only one here, and there didn't seem to be a village, only a huge jungle. He wondered where the mysterious Morde lived. Well, he wouldn't find out by standing here. He began to explore, often passing crewmembers that were eagerly collecting what he assumed were the delicious fruits Demeter had spoken of. They were a deep blue colour, shaped a little like a pear, but larger. Much larger. One of them was about the size of his whole hand. He would have to try one later.

He continued through the forest, soon moving past the fruit trees. It was very quiet in here. There seemed to be fewer animals than one would normally encounter. He tensed slightly, remaining on guard as he walked. Eventually, he came to a large clearing. A wooden shack stood in the centre, with a small garden to one side, and what appeared to be some form of lean-to on the other. It looked deserted.

'Well that's odd.' A voice said from behind him. He spun, coming face to face with a wizened old man leaning on a walking stick. How had he managed to sneak up on him?

'Don't often get visitors here. Very odd indeed. Unless… Hmm…' He closed his eyes for a moment, then smiled. 'You're from Demeter's crew.'

Ace's mouth dropped open slightly. 'How…?'

The old man laughed. 'Oh, it's not that difficult, really. Everyone who is a member of Demeter's crew smells a little dead. Haven't seen you before, though. You new?'

Ace nodded. 'I'm Ace. And you are?'

'Morde.'

Ace's eyebrows shot up. This was the person that Demeter wanted to train them? He looked so old that he could barely hold himself up, let alone teach them to fight.

'Expecting someone younger, hmm? Someone bigger?' Morde cracked a knowing grin, a second before he slammed his walking stick straight into Ace's solar plexus, sending him flying backwards across the clearing into a tree. Morde started laughing.

'Bet your haki didn't help you sense that one, hehe!'

Ace picked himself up off the ground, and saw Demeter emerge from behind Morde, a small smile on her face.

'Be nice, Morde.' She rebuked him lightly. 'He's used to bigger foes than you.'

Morde snorted. 'You don't say.'

Morde took them into the not quite so deserted shack, preparing a cold drink for them. He and Demeter discussed her recent travels for a while, and then the talk turned to business.

'I saw Dark Fury again. I need you to help me train the crew to defeat him. He cannot be allowed to roam the seas any longer, and he is growing in strength. I fear it will soon be too late.'

Morde stroked his chin, leaning back on his chair. 'I suppose I could help you. What's in it for me?'

Demeter smiled. 'I promise I won't allow my doctor to perform a physical on you. She's on the island now.'

Morde's eyes widened, and he unexpectedly grinned. 'Oh, that crazy doctor of yours can perform a physical on me whenever she likes, hehe!'

Demeter grimaced, and Ace put his hands over his face.

'Very well then… What would you like?' Demeter asked cautiously, hoping he wouldn't answer with anything inappropriate.

He thought for a moment. 'New underpants.'

'… I'm sorry, what?'

Morde smiled. 'New underpants. I've had these ones for years, you wouldn't believe how much they've been chafing my-'

'Alright!' She cut him off before he could say any more. 'Alright. New underpants. I'm sure we must have some in your size on the ship somewhere… I'll get Rhior to search for them.'

Ace was simultaneously amused and disgusted. He really wasn't sure what to think of this guy.

'There was one more thing I wanted to ask you.' Demeter said before they left.

'Hmm?' Morde turned to her, eyebrows raised.

'Have you heard anything about a man named Sabo? When I checked his life thread, he was quite near this archipelago, he didn't by any chance stop here?'

'Hmm…' Morde thought for a moment. 'The name doesn't ring a bell. What does he look like?'

'Blonde hair, aristocratic clothes, top hat.' Demeter listed off what she could remember.

'THAT GUY!?' Morde exploded. 'HE STOLE HALF MY FRUIT! That little sneak thief, if I ever get my hands on him I'll strangle him!'

Demeter chuckled. 'I see. Do you perhaps know which way he went?'

Morde grumbled. 'North, from what I could tell. Not much out that way, though. Might have been meeting someone out there, he didn't come to the island in a big ship, just a rowboat.'

'Hmm. Well thank you for the information.' She and Ace exited the shack, leaving Morde at the doorway. 'I'll prepare my crew for your training, and we'll start tomorrow morning.'

'Hehe, alright. I'll whip them into shape, don't worry about that.' He winked, and Demeter shivered slightly.

As she and Ace were walking back, Ace turned to her. 'Is he always that… Odd?'

Demeter nodded. 'Absolutely. It's part of the reason why we don't often come here. He tends to put people off a little bit.'

'Oh, I would never have guessed.' Ace responded sarcastically. Demeter punched his arm lightly.

'Be nice.'

Soon they were back at the ship. Demeter returned to her cabin, and Ace returned to his own. He spent about half an hour in there wondering what the training would involve before he decided to ask his captain about it. So he went to her cabin and knocked on the door, but there was no response.

'Strange.' He muttered, and opened the door. He couldn't see her inside. He began looking through the small rooms within the cabin, and eventually stumbled upon her in the bathroom. She was in the bath, one leg extended in the air as she was cleaning it, a blush extending across her face as she and Ace simultaneously realised that all the bubbles were nearly gone.

'Oh, uh, sorry captain.' He beat a hasty retreat out of the bathroom.

'Whatever it is you wish to ask, you may ask it from out there.' She put an emphasis on the last two words.

Ace scratched the back of his head. 'It wasn't anything important, I was just wondering what sort of training we'll be doing with Morde.'

There was silence from the bathroom for a moment, before she wryly answered, 'The fighting kind.'

He sighed. 'Well I'd worked that much out for myself, thanks.'

He heard a small chuckle. 'He's going to teach the crew to strengthen their haki. I'm not sure how successful that will be with you, of course, but it certainly won't do you any harm.'

She soon emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, purple hair streaming down her back. Ace blushed a little. The towel was rather short.

'Are you just going to stand there?' Her emerald eyes sparkled with mischief. 'Or are you going to leave so I can change?'

He raced out of the room, blush deepening, and could still hear her laughing when he got to the end of the corridor.

The next day, their training began. Morde was merciless. Doctor Mae would have a lot of patients on her hands by the time they were finished. It seemed he was able to sense haki levels, so had paired people with the same level haki against each other, and was forcing them to fight. There wasn't anybody on the crew with a haki as strong as Ace, so he was fighting the old man himself, and was, quite embarrassingly, losing.

'You're distracted, kid.' Morde said scathingly as he beat Ace with his walking stick again. 'Whatever's in your head, get rid of it.'

'Not that easy, gramps.' Ace growled, before taking up a fighting stance again.

'Hehe, got a girl on the brain, do you?' Morde winked before taking another swipe at him. He was amazingly athletic for a man of his advanced years, leaping from tree to tree like a monkey.

'No!' Ace responded a little too loudly.

Morde cackled. 'You're doomed to lose, boy! If you can't stop thinking about her, there's no way you're going to win! Hehe!'

Memories from the previous evening flashed through Ace's mind, and he gritted his teeth. Surely seeing his captain like that shouldn't be causing him this much trouble.

'Think about Luffy instead.' He told himself, remembering his little brother. That helped a little, and he managed to fight back more successfully, making Morde grin.

'Finally! A good fight!'

The two of them were at it long after the rest of the crew had collapsed with exhaustion. It was only when Demeter walked over that Ace lost his concentration again and Morde knocked him flat on his back. Noticing who it was that had caused Ace to be distracted, Morde roared with laughter before heading back to his shack. 'See you tomorrow, kid.'

'What was that about?' Demeter raised an eyebrow, looking confused.

'Uh, nothing, captain.' Ace looked away, hoping he wasn't blushing, before heading back to the ship.

'What the devil is wrong with him?' Demeter muttered to herself, shaking her head.

Upon boarding the ship, Demeter assembled the crew on deck.

'You have done well today. However, this is only the first trial. We shall remain here for three weeks, perhaps more, until Morde and I are both satisfied that the training has been sufficient to allow us to defeat Dark Fury. I expect you to all fight to the last each day. I know it will be difficult, but the rewards are well worth the pain.'

Her crew looked up at her, faces grim but determined.

'One day, we will rid the seas of my tyrant brother. One day, we will be able to ensure the safety of the islands we once called home. This I promise you. Now, to bed. You will need your rest for tomorrow, and I expect many of you will also need to visit the good doctor. Don't worry.' She smiled as she heard the groans of fear and consternation. 'I've ordered her to be nice.'

That didn't seem to inspire confidence in those who were injured the most, but it was the best they would get. They all headed below deck, muttering, exhausted. Ace remained on deck, watching the sea.

Demeter came up next to him, and leaned on the railing. 'You were very distracted today. I expected better from you.' She sounded disappointed.

He turned to her, a retort on his lips, but instead just sighed. She was right. He should have been able to put the distraction aside and focus on the battle.

'I'll do better tomorrow.' He promised both her, and himself.

'See that you do. You're the strongest fighter on the ship. If we are met with disaster at the hands of my brother, I'll be counting on you to help me get us out of it. I'm entrusting you with that duty, Portgas D. Ace. Do you understand?'

His eyes widened. She would trust him with something that important already? 'Yes, I understand.'

'Good. So whatever it is that's distracting you, get it out of your damn head.' She left him there, contemplating the sea.

'What do I do, Styx?' He asked the ship. She merely creaked in response.


End file.
